Thursday, April 16, 2015

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DUBIOUSCHOICE: Would you fight for a job in an industry most Americans despise, even if it paid $174,000 a year, plus perks?

And if it meant that every aspect of your life would be held under a microscope for inspection and criticism? Your motives questioned. And what if while competing for the job, the very core of your most cherished beliefs are savaged?

Barney Brantingham

And the closet of your life is opened wide in search of skeletons, real or conjured up? And everything you say is twisted? Things you said 20 years ago under different circumstances brought up and thrown in your face.

If your very loyalty to the country you love is held up to serious, though false, doubt? You have to stick your neck out and get your character trashed.

And any divorce in the family, your children’s youthful pratfalls, your ex-spouse’s DUI, your college grades, and every aspect of your life, past or present, become fodder for debate.

And even if you get the job, it’s only good for two years, and then you must apply for another round in the boxing ring?

That, in brief, is what’s involved in running for Congress, easier for some, a battle for others. Yet since Representative Lois Capps announced her retirement last week, effective at the end of her current term, would-be candidates are letting it be known that they’re ready, willing, and able to go to Congress, no matter what it takes to get elected.

Somehow, since taking office in 1998 after the death of her husband, congressmember Walter Capps, she has survived the rough-and-tumble political wars. And now, at 77, she says she’s ready to retire from the Washington merry-go-round.

I’ve known Capps a long time and admired the fact that she carried on so cheerfully, knowing full well that so many were restlessly waiting for her to be gone, girl, gone.

Over the years, some were cool but made no bones about badly wanting her 24th District seat. Others gathered like hungry wolves, licking their chops, in the shadows beyond the campfire, awaiting their opportunity.

Now, the dam has broken (sorry about the mixed metaphors). Democrats who politely refrained from challenging a fellow party member have plunged in or are poised to.

Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider was first off the mark, followed promptly by Republican Justin Fareed and fellow Democrat 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal.

Expected to follow are City Councilmember Dale Francisco, head of the Republican Central Committee, and Republican Chris Mitchum, who came within 4 percentage points of unseating Capps last November.

Speculation is that her daughter, Laura Capps, back from Washington, D.C., will soon leap into the fray. With 18 months to go, how many more combatants will we see? It’ll be the wildest congressional campaign here in many, many years.

Whether Schneider wins or not, watch half the City Council arm wrestle to succeed her as mayor since she’s hit her term limit. Meanwhile, Schneider has her hands full.

There are her duties as mayor trying to keep order among fractious councilmembers while running for Congress and also riding herd on the late Huguette Clark’s Bellosguardo estate on East Cabrillo Boulevard, with its tax problems.

Schneider figures to have ample campaign funds at her disposal. She’s not on the Bellosguardo Foundation board, but under the New York court settlement, she appointed the majority of members, many of them wealthy heavy hitters in the social and philanthropic arenas who figure to be very helpful in a political campaign. Her campaign consultant, Jeremy Lindaman, is president of the foundation.

DAMNTHEPRIMARIES: Speaking of destructo-reputation jobs, the race for the 2016 presidential election is on full-speed, and damn the innuendos.

Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks was in town last week and didn’t seem impressed by any of the candidates so far. He spoke at a UCSB Arts & Lectures reception at the Montecito Country Club and again at Campbell Hall, and some got the impression that he favors non-candidate Robert Gates, former CIA chief and Defense Department head. At a recent Arts & Lectures appearance here, Gates told me he’s not running for anything.

Besides, Gates carries a lot of baggage stamped IRAQ. Asked if in hindsight he thought invading Iraq 12 years ago was a good idea (count the bodies and billions), he dodged the question. Let’s wait 15 years to see how it turns out, he suggested.

Comments

Although we may hear the office of the Presidency being spoken of in the highest regard, the opinions of our first President was the exact opposite:

George Washington said: “All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.”

He also stated:

“I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe.” End of quotes.

Regarding the federal executive branch, we've been here for two decades:

"As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron." — H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

And most likely we'll not be elsewhere in 2017, regardless of whether the figurehead "elected" is from the jackass gang or the elephant gang.

To say Helene is termed out "whether she wins or not" isnt really accurate. Technically she is on her last term, but if she doesnt win there will be no jostling until 2017 (16 or 18 if even year is approved) and no Council appointment at all which is quite a different reality than the inevitable "arm wrestling" scenario laid out above.

Also, it's not Dale or Mitchum who will run on the GOP side but rather Katcho Achadjian.

Curiously Barney refuses to even mention popular SLO County supervisor Katcho Achadjian who is the leading GOP contender at this point.

He will be kicking off his campaign in the south county this Friday (4/17) at 11am in the Court House Sunken Gardens. Come and listen to what he has to say about running for this office, since Indy resident Lefite Barney refuses to even acknowledge his existence.

I wrote "...we've been here for two decades" because I'm figuring from 1993 (Clinton).

Though, at least for Clinton, "downright fool" and "moron" doesn't apply: perhaps "...narcissistic criminal and psychopath" would work more broadly than Mencken's "downright fool and complete narcissistic moron."

Living in a redundant "let's elect them again and again and again" world can do this sort of thing to a journalist. (What truly amazes me is their ability to demand hope and change while despising even the tiniest bit of both...) Don't worry, they'll get over it. Heck they might even come to enjoy reporting in a world where things change from time to time!

Seventy-two percent of Americans are concerned that their local and state governments won’t be able to fund public employee pensions as currently promised.

Thirty-nine percent are “very concerned”; 33 percent are “somewhat concerned”; 15 percent of Americans are “not too concerned”; and 11 percent are “not concerned at all” about government’s capacity to pay for public pensions.

Seventy-six percent of Americans think pension reform should be a priority for government: 35 percent say it should be a “top priority” and 41 percent say it should be an “important but lower priority.”

Nearly three-quarters of Americans, 74 percent, are concerned their local or state governments will raise taxes in order to pay for public employee pension obligations in the future. Forty-two percent are “very concerned” and 32 percent are “somewhat concerned.”

Come on Santa Barbara, The only choices you have are Helene and Dale, What a joke, lets try and send some brains, instead of trains. The two of them cant govern a small city of a 100,000 people and your going to send one of them to govern for a bunch more, You think the homeless problem is bad now, you think your roads are bad now, you think our water problem is bad now, you think by sending either one of them is going to improve the way of life here. Wake up, we need new younger blood, someone with new ideas, someone who say they are going to do it, and then get it done, These two cant even get police officers on our streets, they are good at giving there friends a great paying job with all these non-profit companies, they are good at making promises they cant keep, people can't even live in Santa Barbara, because we have no housing, no jobs, no legitimate Politian's. Come on people its time to get rid of them, not good for humanity, they are only good to hire friends and allow others to suck off of our system, we will make sure we put up a fight to get rid of them, no room for them in congress. Bye Bye Helene, Dale, Frank and you too Kathy, you Politian's are not good for this community, Imagine seeing Kathy become mayor of Santa Barbara, the blind leading the blind. Citizens of Santa Barbara, its time take our city back.

For someone calling themselves SANTABARBARAWATCHDOG, you are barking up the wrong tree with every statement you just made.

Dale Francisco is not running for Lois Capps seat. Helene has been 100% more savvy than her predecessor. Be grateful for small favors You show zero understanding why there is so little leverage left in city government to do anything, let alone the impossibility getting out of prior contractual commitments made by a string of Democratic progressives.

The train has left the station after those decades of "progressive" excess. Our only option is to now pay the bills, get little to nothing for ourselves, and hope fervently the next crew does not make it worse.

There is plenty of housing for those who already live here. Why do you think there is such a low vacancy rate? People found housing. Because in fact people do live here.

Housing is affordable for them because they were able to obtain what they could afford. They have the jobs they need, or the retirement income to make it work for them here. And they are the ones who will be voting to do what ever they want with this city.

Who will be "taking this city back" and what will they do with it once they "take it back"? You leave out critical details. Otherwise you sound like just one more taker, who wants people to give you something that you cannot provide for yourself.